Defending Warp-speed No-Huddle Offences – part 1

The best learning experience that taught me how to defend a Warp-speed no huddle was by coaching a warp-speed no huddle.

In 1991, I had two unpaid coaching jobs annually – high school head coach in the fall and defensive coordinator of an AAU-style 22-under summer team. The 1991 high school job was a turning point of my offensive philosophy. I floored it on offense. I gradually sped up my offense between 1985-1991. In 1991, I installed the 8-second rule – the ball had to be snapped within 8 seconds of the ball being spotted. At that time, our warp-speed high school no-huddle was ground-oriented. Our Run-Pass Ratio was Over 80 – over 80% run, less than 20% pass. The reason was it worked out – dual meaning. Ground-oriented no-huddle shifted the balance of power and working out is the main reason why it worked out.

My high school team functioned in the dysfunctional – in the worst Football Poverty imaginable. We were poor in all resources – financial, human, and physical. The best way I found to compete with and beat the rich teams in 1991 was a warp-speed ground-oriented no-huddle. The main element in warp-speed ground-pound no-huddle underdog success is strength & conditioning. That became my first lesson in defending the no-huddle – strength & conditioning. Get stronger, last longer. When you last longer, we moved out of last place where all three of my high school programs had been stuck in.

In 1991, I identified 20 elements of defending a warp-speed no-huddle. Number one on the list was X Fitness – extreme strength & conditioning through ‘Multiplication Training.” The X represented: (i) the variable, referring to the unknown capacity of strength + fitness for your team and their team (ii) the amount of times that fitness can multiply your strength + fitness while diminishing theirs.

It is impossible to defend and completely stop a warp-speed no-huddle unless your entire defense matches ‘fuel capacity’ in mind, body, and soul, with the no-huddle offense you are defending. All 20 elements are important but none of them matter if your defense doesn’t match the offense’s strength + fitness level.

The number one reason for the sustained success of our no-huddle offense with impoverished high school teams was the 10-90 Rule. Our no-huddle diminished our opponent’s fuel capacity between 90% and 10%. Film study showed wide-ranging conclusions and evidence. Here’s what topped the list – generally, we played with a full-tank, they played with a half-tank. They ran out of gas as we ran up points. Full-speed versus half-speed. Full-strength versus half-strength.

I converted that finding as the number one principle to stop a no-huddle. As defensive coordinator, my first objective was to raise the bar – dual meaning. Raise fitness standards and raise fitness practices. Warp-speed no-huddle offense is a special mindset, and marked departure from conventional football. So is defending it. Defending a no-huddle is equally a special mindset itself. Defending a warp-speed no-huddle requires an ideology based on extreme fitness. Ordinary strength & conditioning isn’t enough. The good news is that training to defend a warp-speed no-huddle will dramatically improve your defense against offenses that huddle. This article is part 1 of a series.

There is no sport tougher to coach than football. One key to coaching survival is to never stop learning. My gym, X Fitness, sponsors Blunt Talk Podcast. The mission of Blunt Talk Podcast is to lift in mind, body, and soul. All 304 episodes are free, permanently archived at: www.ginoarcaro.com

He also has written 20 editions of 6 law enforcement academic textbooks. A new 8-volume interrogation book series will be released in 2014. And just released, a new children’s book called “BE FIT – DON’T QUIT.” He is currently writing three non-fiction motivational novels book called The Mystery of Murder: Working with the dead, Midnight Shift from Hell, and Another Bar Fight. Another book on human potential called “Hashtag Peace” is at the editing stage.